Down To Cinders
by Urethane
Summary: Naruto. Orphan. Fire Bender. After leaving from his master to experience the world, he accidentally lands a job in the Fire Nation as the Azure Princess's bodyguard-cum-butler. Being forced along the ride to search for the Avatar with female friends and the Will of Fire at his side, all he can hope for is to not burn down to cinders. !Harem !FireBenderNaruto !NicerAzula
1. My Best Friend

_She beckoned to him, gesturing him to follow her towards the well-kept garden. Spinning, she danced through the large garden, beneath the tall trees and inbetween the bushes, nimble like a frisky sprite. The youngest child, daughter, of Fire Lord Ozai was a never before seen prodigy in the art of Firebending. Wielding the power of azure flames, hotter than any of the Fire Nation's biggest flames, the only thing that was possibly stopping her from taking the throne for herself was experience, as well as the ability to curb her hubris. Against her father, currently holding the title of the strongest Fire Bender alive, she was practically a new-born cub against a ferocious bear, capable of mauling grown men to death with his oversized paws._

 _"C'mon, Naruto! Let's play something fun!" Her voice was playful, yet commandeering from years of being pampered and asserting her dominance over the Palace's maids and servants. She ducked beneath the gentle willow leaves that hung next to the large koi pond. Blue water rippled as the colourful koi rushed away from the dancing girl; and for good reason too. The girl was a natural predator and even the fishes could feel it._

 _Breathing in the fresh air, Azula grinned into the surface of the water, admiring her beautiful reflection. Silky black hair that was let down, released from the usual confines of a silver coloured band and a large metal comb that would sit into her hair, pinning it in place, she flipped her head and tossed her hair across her back. Perfectly rounded lips once coated with pretty ruby lipstick, was curled into a naughty smile, full of mischief unfit to be found on a princess. Pale skin shun under the light of the smiling morning sun, her complexion was considered to be quite rare, but she shared it with one of her other friends, Mai, and her mother, Ursa._

 _Her mother was a strange subject for the growing girl, having spent most of her time with her father than her mother. At first, she had resented the fact that Zuko received so much more love from Ursa than Azula, and had told Naruto about the conflicting feelings of hating her mother for doing so but wanting to have her attention as well. Naruto had silently debated with himself for a while before he looked at her and asked her honestly if she had told her mother that she did not enjoy being left out from her affection. Azula shook her head, having never thought about that._

 _ **'Wasn't a mother supposed to do her job and look after all her children?'** She had asked him, Naruto nodded, as he leaned into her comfy bed, but held up his hand to prevent angry words from spilling from her lips._

 _ **'That's true,'** He admitted, **'But daughters are also supposed to do their job and love their mothers. It's not as if your mother never tried to give you any love was it?'** Azula frowned, thinking back to all the times she snubbed her mother's requests for tea and a chat, choosing to practise in Firebending instead. **'There, I know you've found the answer.'** He had shrugged, **'Whether or not you choose to change the path you're currently walking, to go back when you still have the chance to do so, is up to you. I, personally, would do it. I never had a mother, or a father, and it would a shame to lose yours just because you don't want to tell her that.'** He told her, gently brushing his hand over her hair, pushing the black locks from her face to her back. Azula had done a lot of thinking that night, choosing to go against the road she had been walking, wanting to return to the fork in the road and take the path Zuko did. It was going to be tough, with many bumps along the way back to the split path, but she wasn't the strongest and toughest girl in her generation for nothing._

 _Not only the strongest girl in her generation, the girl was already considered by the masses to be the most beautiful girl in the Fire Nation, whether that opinion was completely true or lies told from fear was, so far, undetermined. In her opinion, she found herself to be quite pretty and would get rather… 'feisty' when someone disagreed. It was rather thankful that Naruto agreed with her nearly all the time. Not that she was necessarily wrong, but was very intelligent and cunning. The only times he disagreed were during private talks and discussions about various subjects ranging from tactics to use in war and even the topic of friends._

 _On the topic of wartime strategies, Azula had been adopting the strategy her father used. She found sacrificing troops for the greater good to be the perfect tactic while Naruto debated, saying that if it were he who was in charge, he would search of a way to lose as little of his soldiers as possible instead of ensuring a sure-win at the price of hundreds of soldiers. When the princess had asked why, Naruto simply stated that those soldiers she wanted to sacrifice had families that were waiting for them when they got home, and asked if she were a soldier, what would Ursa's reaction be to her death? Azula had then reconsidered her choices from her best friend's words, questioning Ozai and herself, wondering if she was suited for such a job when the time came._

 _Shaking the thought out of her head, she shoved them aside for later. For now, she wasn't Princess Azula, just Azula. It was funny in a way, she always cared so much about the title of Princess so much, but after meeting Naruto, and befriending him, his way of seeing her as herself instead of Princess Azula, how he saw through her perfected mask, had changed her views about herself, even going as far to question if she even knew her real personality after living as someone else for so long. Her father was a very influential man after all._

 _Here, she was free, free from her shackles as a princess of the Fire Nation. The garden wasn't the only factor that contributed to that. Her gold eyes darted to the blonde that was still trailing behind, a carefree look on his whiskered face. She had met Naruto when she was around four to five, and had bonded with him over time. He was three years older than her but had no idea how he even managed to get her father -of all people!- to allow a stranger, an apparent peasant if his words were reputable, into the palace. She had heard from the gossiping of maids that the blonde had beaten one of the elite guards in her father's entourage, therefore catching her father's attention._

 _Her best friend laughed with his hands behind his shaggy skull as he followed behind her at a slower gait. "Sure thing, Azula-chan." He told her offhandedly, accepting her game request._

 _"Naruto~!" She whined, stomping her foot childishly. "You'll never get me at that speed!"_

 _"Ara." His big blue eyes twinkled, a tiny smirk forming on his face. "Whining, how unbecoming of a princess." He playfully mocked, casually moving out of the way of a tiny blue ember that would have left a little red mark on his skin had it touched. Azula was pouting, her finger pointed out at him as proof that she was the one who had done so, had the blue in the fire not been obvious._

 _She said sternly to the boy, "You know that I'm not Princess Azula now, just Azula."_

 _"I know, Azula-chan, just teasing you." He replied._

 _"Well I don't like it." She folded her arms and looked away haughtily, apparently unhappy with Naruto's roguish remark. Chuckling softly at her action, Naruto glided over to the girl and walked around her, admiring the 'clothes' that she adorned, a set of crimson pyjamas with a golden trim. Going to her back, he softly took Azula's black hair and bundled it together, slowly removing the silver band around his wrist and tied her hair up into a cute little ponytail. Not being able to see her face, he was unable to get the memory of Azula smiling softly, golden eyes in a daze as she felt his lithe fingers through her sleek charcoal hair. Face flushed, she bit her lip, stopping the excited giggle from escaping from her mouth. She loved the feeling of his caring hands, and was unknowingly reminded very much of her mother when she used to tie her hair up for Azula._

 _"There." He released her hair, "All tied up and ready to play." He had also somehow managed to worm his way into a position as her personal 'bodyguard' –not that she needed it- as well as her butler. She assumed father wouldn't allow him to have stayed for so long without doing anything, besides, Naruto was a great teacher and a very difficult person to catch at times. Pranks in the palace were… common, to say the least. Most of which were played on her older brother, Zuko who was a year younger than he was, and left the crown prince bitter at how he was unable to catch the blonde off guard and prank him back._

 _Having Naruto around had also been rather beneficial to the princess. None of them knew, but her arrogance and hubris, although still very high, had been cut slightly. His happy-go-lucky attitude and kind persona, the way he treated the maids and servants, had affected Azula slightly. The palace saw a decrease of maids and servants being banished from the Fire Nation after a year of Naruto's introduction._

 _"Are you sure you still want to play Catch? You do realise you're quite the sore loser when you lose, don't you? I'm not sure I like that kind of attitude."_

 _She struck a pose, a hand on her hip while the other pointed a well-manicured fingernail at him. "Hah! Just for those words, if I win, I'll banish you." The girl smirked, knowing that she had backed him into a corner._

 _"No, you won't." He rubbed her head patronizingly. "You love me too much to do that."_

 _Then again, Naruto was as slick as an eel. Cornering him would prove to be nigh impossible._

 _"I-Idiot!"_

 _And so, the game of tag began with the grinning blonde fox running away from the blushing cat who was flinging azure fireballs across the garden to the training field, careful in her shots._

 _Wouldn't want to burn down her favourite place in the whole of the Fire Nation over something that was very true, now did she?_

* * *

 _Preview in the far future._

* * *

 _The man cowered before him, pride, rank and authority long forgotten. This wasn't supposed to have happened! He should have died on that ship! Naruto's face was eerily calm and lacked emotion, a surprise to the High Admiral who always saw the boy grinning or smiling._

 _"To protect ourselves and what we hold dear…" He muttered softly, voice smooth like silk, and raised his arms at the High Admiral. His face was one of utter calmness, then like a ripple in the pond, his arms-_ _ **Oh Kami his arms!**_

 _Blazing black flames, ethereal and translucent burned furiously up to his elbows, engulfing his hands in heat unmeasurable. Azure fire was one thing, but stygian flames were something completely impossible. What the hell was going on?! What kind of demonic power was this?! The boy approached him slowly, the creak of the wood beneath his heels was slow, painfully so. Sweating profusely, Zhao could feel it, the incredible cold the ebony blaze emitted was… nether worldly, not from this plane. He couldn't even raise his own arms or fight back, the dread that the boy gave him was crippling his ability to even think, let alone function properly._

 _"… We keep frightening beasts within us." His stoic face broke, a small genial smile appearing on his face, illuminated by the cold flames that had travelled up to his elbows already. He cleared his throat, "Now, allow me to introduce to you, Amaterasu. Flames so hot, they feel…" He searched for an appropriate word, smiling when he did._

 _"...Chilling. Maybe this'll teach you not to try anything against Azula-hime."_

 _Despite how far and wide they travelled, no one was there to hear Zhao's screams as the sable flames consumed him, body and soul._

* * *

 _Chapter end._

* * *

 _Naruto will be born in the universe of Avatar, and will be a Fire Bender who has a little secret to his flames, one that has more than enough power to dominate the Nation in Red. He is the apprentice of Piandao, which I was inspired by from the Umbrella Swordsman Fic by Orpheus. He'll be strong, but not too strong due to his age. He's above Azula in terms of actual fighting._

 _This will also be a harem fic, with Azula, Ty Lee and Mai, probably the hottest trio of girls in Nickelodeon history. Not exactly saying much when compared to Ed, Edd and Eddy's Kanker Sisters, where only Marie was pretty cute._

 _Nevertheless, I'd like to see how this one fares in the midst. I'm fairly certain that my version of the Fire Bending Naruto hasn't been done before. His rage fuels his power and he will be having a different variant of Amaterasu, something that I wished to see more in Naruto X Avatar fics._

 _Expect lots of fluff with Azula, Ty Lee and Mai._


	2. Fluffy Friendships

" _I'll wrap a noose around Fate's neck, and make her my bitch." - Azula_

* * *

Azula supposed that being alone in the silent room was calming, it wasn't comparable to the feeling she got when casually conversing with Naruto.

The girl sat upright with a strange look on her face, looking quizzically at nothing in particular as she ran her palm and fingers over the silk linen that lined the surface of her comfy bed. Actually, now that she thought about it, nothing felt the same as being with Naruto. She used to get the same feeling when father praised her during her winning bouts against men thrice her age, but now… now she felt nothing from those matches, no satisfaction from her older opponents beaten before her and her father's words brought zero feelings. Many might have thought that she adored her father, admired to be like him.

And they were right. _Sort of._

Gazing at her outstretched arm, she held her hand up to beaming moon outside of her window, watching as the moon outlined her dainty fingers.

To her, Ozai was but a stepping stone to greater heights. He didn't possess the same power she held; the intense blue flames that made her stand out from the others. The only thing that made him better than her was his raw strength, experience and age, somethings she cursed. And while she did strive to be like her father like many claimed she did, she only intended to in one aspect, to become the Queen! Fire Lord Azula had a nice ring to it, ruling alongside her trusted advisor, Naruto.

Ah… Naruto… The girl couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her face at the thought of her friend.

Naruto brought intense feelings, a strange desire to just want to be with him stirred in her chest every time he made her laugh or just… just treated her like how she wanted to be treated, like a princess, both strong and needy, and yet at the same time, herself. She loved being pampered, but at the same time detested being treated as a weakling.

How he managed to balance those two things, she'd never know, but she sure as hell loved it. She had no idea what the feeling was, but she wanted more of it. Logically concluding her thoughts, Azula now understood that she needed to spend even more time around Naruto to get more of the feeling.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the ticking of the clock that sat on her bedside table. It was painful listening to how it ticked away, each second drawing on and on, feeling very much like time was stretching and extending a second by an hour. She breathed in, calming her heart, slowing her beat down.

It was about to be time soon and boy was she excited! It was her eleventh birthday after all, and she wanted Naruto to be with her, but he had to come himself of course, it would ruin everything if she had to drag him to celebrate her birthday. Then doubt came along and punched her thoughts in her head.

Sitting up from the bed, her splayed hair rose along with her, the light from the moon bathing the dimly lit room in a sea of bright white, making her hair shimmer like an ebony blanket. Had any of the palace's maids seen her, they would have thought that she resembled a ghost. Her pale milky skin glowed further, shun radiantly beneath the moonlit lands. Breathing deeply, her arms went from her toned stomach, up past her slow growing chest and then her soft neck, then high into the air.

An amused voice came from the once closed door. "Am I interrupting something?"

All the grace the princess held was shattered with a Warhammer. With the girl yelping, spinning around, her fists on fire and her face in a state of panic, she realised that it was just Naruto who was holding a platter had let himself into the room.

Swallowing the lump in her neck, she shook the shock off, recomposed herself and pretended that whatever just happened had never occurred. Naruto chuckled, setting the platter down onto the table where a few scrolls lay. He bent over, picking up a few more candles and placed them around the room, igniting each one slowly. Soon, a vibrant orange overpowered and washed the once white room.

"What? Don't give me that look." Naruto ignored Azula's glare. "I brought supper."

"Why would you bring me supper." She spoke in a clipped tone, clearly angry.

Naruto hummed, cupping his chin in thought. "Hmmm. I brought it because, if I recall perfectly, it was a certain princess's birth- Whoa!" Azula had launched herself into his chest, hugging him fiercely. "Oi, Azula-chan." He smiled, snickering. "Your food is going to be cold if you don't let go of me."

"Y-Yes, of course." She cleared her throat and backed away from him, turning to the platter and lifting the silver cover off. Then she gasped.

No way.

It was her favourite!

Ramen!

More specifically, ramen he cooked!

How did he-

"You must be wondering how I know you love my homemade ramen right?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows, rubbing his nails on his sleeve and blowing on them rather haughtily. "Every time I turn my back, my bowl of ramen always depletes by a little…" He grinned at the blushing Azula, "And since we always eat lunch together, you were the one who ate my ramen, unless there are invisible and ramen-loving monkey-bats around of course."

He held a finger and wiggled it, preventing her defence to his statement, something both knew were untrue. "Ah, ah. Eat up, Azula-chan."

Mumbling a cute and embarrassed 'thank you', Azula sat down on her plush chair and began to dig in with controlled fervour. Had Naruto not been there, she would be choking on noodles right then.

"Say," Azula swallowed her mouthful of noodles, dabbing her lips with the napkin. "Why do you keep calling me '-chan'. What does that mean?"

Naruto grinned, looking slightly abashed as he scratched his head. "It's just a verbal tick I came up with. I use it to describe most girls." He leaned into her face, Azula backing at how close he was getting. "Pretty ones too, like you 'Zula."

"Naruto!"

The pair continued chattering till the early morning of the next day, with Azula falling asleep on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto laughed softly, brushing her hair out of her face and lifting her up slowly.

Making his way to the bed, Naruto gently placed her onto her bed. "Good night Azula." He gave the younger girl a kiss on the forehead, a cute moan coming from her as she tried to reach out to him. He smiled and handed her a spare pillow, the girl grabbing it slowly, bringing the comfy cushion to her chest and hugging it tightly, not wanting to let go as the sleeping princess self-assumed it was Naruto.

 _"Happy birthday, my Queen."_

* * *

 **NEXT MORNING**

Hooting, the girl began to cartwheel down the side of the small hill, her trilling laughter filling the air as she rolled. As she made her way to the end, the girl clad in a pink top and baggy bottom, with her midriff exposed, performed a backflip, spinning in the air and landing safely on her feet. It was her daily routine, to come to the garden early in the morning when dew was still found on the grass edges and practise her acrobatic abilities. No sense in having them dulled when she could use them all the time, even for walking!

Hearing claps, the girl spun around, her long braided hair following along with the fact action, nearly whipping herself in the face.

"Good morning, Ty Lee. Energetic as ever I see." Naruto gave a warm smile, a medium sized blush emerging on her face.

Born as the youngest sister of a litter of girls, Ty Lee dealt with six sisters who shared identical appearances with her. This caused her to feel a loss of individuality, and led her to have a longing to be a unique, recognizable person, and a desire for attention from other people. The attention was never on her despite how much she tried to have it shine on her, with her sisters taking the spotlight for some unimaginable reason. She was upset though, feeling that she wasn't special. And so, the girl ran away at a young age, choosing to join the Fire Nation Travelling Circus as a way to escape her loss of individuality.

Of course, despite the light not beaming upon her, boys still flocked to her like Grizzly-Bees would to honey. During her time in the circus, boys her age or even teens would be attracted to her unintentionally bewitching beauty while she performed on her tightropes and acrobatic stunts. Even now, when she had left the circus, she was still being pursued by boys.

Her beauty was only matched by that of both of her best friends. Azula's and Mai's looks were absolutely stunning, even at their current age of eleven, with Azula's birthday being today. however, their personalities often put boys off. With one being 'completely emotionless' and the other being 'too scary', they headed to the spiteful and bubbly, not-so-smart, beauty, Ty Lee to compete for her attention and affection. She made no attempt at shooting her would-be suitors down, allowing them to make absolute fools out of themselves while doing the most menial of tasks like hold her sunbathing mirror. Of course, it wasn't like the girl actually thought like that. Ty Lee wasn't a cruel person at heart, the spirited girl just found it very entertaining to see boys stumble around trying to please her, especially when her heart belonged to someone else.

But, she hated boys that tried to make moves on her after she had told them no, especially those that tried to take advantage of her ebullience and lack of wits. A few braver and very foolish boys had made attempts at trying to bag her as their trophy, with the mind-set that she was a fool, and each found their limbs slack and unusable through the nimble finger jabs of Ty Lee and getting booted out by the circus's strongman who found the girl to be very nice.

Being regarded as a complete scatterbrain did nothing to dampen Ty Lee's spirit. She herself knew that she was an 'eccentric genius'. The girl knew she wasn't smart 'smart', but was smart in a whole different way. Seeing as she had pretty much mastered the art of Chi Blocking by herself, receiving help from her lovely teacher, Naruto, one would find it hard to disagree to her claims.

With utter certainty, she detested boys that didn't think for themselves or were trying to act like someone they weren't in order to impress her. The only people who hadn't done so were Zuko and Naruto. Zuko was on fair terms with Ty Lee despite finding her unbreakable spirit to be as troublesome as Naruto's. But she had not pranked him, so she was still fine in the eyes of the crown prince.

"Good morning Naruto!" She replied cheerfully to her male best friend and childhood crush.

Naruto on the other hand, he was another story.

* * *

 _ **(Flashback, A few years ago.)**_

* * *

 _Ty Lee quivered, pushing herself into the darkness as the Earthbending robbers began drawing closer and closer with each step. The day had been going well, the circus had drawn in a large crowd as well as an influx of money. But with the appearance of robbers, the atmosphere of laughter and fun had plummeted._ _Chunks of earth were floating up, prepared to fire at anyone who made any sudden movements to stop them. There were five of them, and Ty Lee cursed the day the strongman left, he would have totally whooped their asses!_

 _Her eyes went to the crowd, where families were hugging each other fearfully, children being shielded by parents in the event the robbers decided to begin firing at innocents. Then she heard a very loud and tired sigh, followed by a muttering of 'just my luck.'_

 _Her jaw dropped as an aura of gold shun brightly._

 _A boy, not much older than her, stood up from his seat beside a pair of beautiful girls, both of whom watched the Earth Benders with displeasure, even if one was slightly emotionless. Strange, one of the girls looked rather familiar to Ty Lee…_

 _"Honestly, we get a day off and this happens. Can never catch a break, can we?" He twisted and stepped onto his seat, kicking off the part the back and launching himself backwards into the group of surprised Earth Benders. Spinning back to his front, he smashed a foot into the first man's jaw, his fist stretching out and striking another's nose, and from the loud crunch, broke it. Both dropped to the floor without a sound, leaving only three surprised men standing. The rocks that they levitated dropped as soon as they did._

 _"Sheesh, you guys sure are weak." The blonde boy grimaced at the two men surrounding his feet, one of whom had blood pooling around his nose. Using his foot, he rolled the man onto his side to ensure that he didn't choke to death in his blissful 'sleep' on his own blood._

 _"Okay, I'm Uzumaki Naruto," He pointed a thumb at himself, "And here are the rules." He cracked his knuckles, the men flinching at the sound, "Rule one: I beat you, you stay down. Rule two: Giving up isn't an option, and finally, Rule three…"_

 _Then his fists caught fire and the men gulped, readying their boulders, targeting them at the boy._

 _"I always win." Naruto begun his attack on the robbers with the crowd cheering for him. From her hiding spot, Ty Lee was completely entranced by his agile and slightly acrobatic movement as well as his glowing and vibrant aura._

* * *

 _Azula smirked as Naruto tossed the men around with flaming fists, watching them fail miserably at stopping the boy from laying the beat down upon them. Mai sighed as their day was ruined by the group of thugs. She narrowed her eyes as Naruto uppercut one man into the wooden wall, where he broke through it easily with his size and the force behind the punch._

 _"Great. Another day spoiled by people." The girl's hair was bunched up and tied into buns on the top, with the rest let down below shoulder-level. She held no ill will to any Earth Benders, but utterly detested people who ruined her day, such as the ones who just had. "This is why I don't go out, Azula." A miasma of darkness, gloom, leaked outwards from her body. A pity too, she was having such a great time with Naruto beside her._

 _"I don't know," Azula smiled, turning to meet her equally pale and very often emotionless and sardonic friend, "I'm having a fun time." Her eyes followed Naruto as he kicked off a man's chest, his heel catching him in the jaw as he did so._

 _Out of the blue, she stoically asked Azula, "When are you going to tell Naruto that you like him?"_

 _Azula didn't look too surprised at the question. Sparing only a glance to Mai before she returned her attention to Naruto, she asked back, "When are you?"_

 _"Touché." Mai relented. Both knew that the other liked Naruto, but had not brought it up in fear of damaging what could be called their friendship. Azula found Mai's gloomy and mordant outlook on life to be rather refreshing and interesting in the palace was filled with. Both had met on Azula's sixth birthday after the usual groups of her father's 'friends' came over to wish her a happy birthday and get into the festivities of the day. There, a bored Mai was sitting next to the willow tree, hiding beneath the shade, escaping from socialising. Quickly, Naruto and Azula had made friends with the stoic girl._

 _The same could be said for Mai, who found Azula to be just as interesting. Upon meeting the girl, Mai could already tell that the princess had a deep infatuation for Naruto despite how well she hid it. At first, she told herself that she wouldn't get involved with their relationship, but slowly, she had begun to fall for Naruto herself, as hard as Azula had. It was surprising to her, how she had actually taken an interest in boys. She supposed he was different, didn't care a tad bit about being in the presence of royalty or beauty such as Azula whereas other boys would be tripping over their own feet trying to kiss her toes or brownnose. She had even begun to suspect that Naruto was into boys, but a few occasional and playful flirts to both her and Azula quickly disproved that theory._

 _After spending a lot of time at the palace at the insistence of her father and mother who wanted to get on the good side of the Fire Lord, and surprisingly alongside that of the Fire Lord himself, Mai had basically made a new home at the palace, seeing as how her real home wasn't exactly… homely._

 _Naruto had broken down her walls, outwardly smashing her impassive and apathetic features and bringing up the feelings and emotions hidden deeply in her. Those emotions long forgotten to her were suddenly remembered and able to show, even if it was briefly. While the two were alone, she began to smile, even if it was a minute little lift of the side of her lips, Naruto considered that a victory and reminded her every time her smile increased._

 _Hell, she had even taught him how to throw weapons since she was not a Bender and had to come up with her own self-defence. Something that Fire Benders would laugh at he took in stride, enjoying the lessons he had with her tremendously. Of course, she personally enjoyed the times when he was still a beginner, now a novice, where he depended on her to guide him physically, and she would press herself against him, feeling his astonishingly lean muscles with her own body._

 _Most of all, she found herself blushing now that she was older whenever he came into elongated periods of physical contact with her. It was pretty crazy, how he managed to completely change her. Despite still being bleak and bored, Mai's thin lips would rarely curl into a smile. Rarely, but still did._

 _Mai supposed that it was pretty obvious that both of them liked him, seeing as how their constantly tried to one up each other in attempts to impress the older blonde._

 _Now that both of them let each other's cats out of their bags, and Azula wasn't screaming bloody murder at her, the princess was either doing one of three things: Preparing for Mai's assassination, taking her liking of Naruto as a challenge, or even possibly sharing him with her. Actually, she didn't mind sharing Naruto with Azula at all. She supposed being loved by him equally was all that mattered to her in the end. Still didn't mean that she couldn't try to get him for herself now could she?_

 _"Azula-chan! Mai-chan! I got a new friend!" Both girls turned to Naruto who was holding onto the hand of a smiling Ty Lee. "Her name's Ty Lee and she's super cool!" He ignored the crowd gaping at him as he dragged Ty Lee along, waving his hand at both the girls who covered their mouths and talked to each other._

 _"A new friend?" Azula muttered softly to Mai, who snorted._

 _"Or a new competitor."_

 _Thus, a new friendship slowly blossomed with the addition of Ty Lee into Azula's entourage._

* * *

 _ **Flashback end.**_

* * *

On that day, she chose to leave the circus after a year of travelling with them in order to follow Azula and her friends back to the Fire Nation capital. Apparently the offer and invitation of staying with the princess of the Fire Nation was one that was too good to give up and the circus even encouraged her to go. Tears were shed between the unofficial family before they all waved goodbye to an equally sad and waving Ty Lee.

But a whole day later and Ty Lee had essentially gotten over it and got back to her usual bubbly self, bouncing all around the palace as a result. Naruto had become her official guardian since he was older than all of them, and she lived right next door to him in the palace. Some nights when she couldn't sleep, she'd go to his room and play games or, and he was not afraid to admit, braid each other's hair in silly ways.

"Ooh, ooh! What did you get for Azula's birthday?" Ty Lee asked excitedly with Naruto shrugging.

He smirked at her, "Don't know, guess we'll have to see." He said.

"Ahhhh~, so mysterious!" Ty Lee squealed, getting incredibly interested in the gift Naruto had gotten for Azula. Unable to keep hers a secret, she showed him four tickets that she whipped out from her back pocket. Each was a blazing red in colour, the words and borders of the paper were written in gold.

It read:

 **'Limted Edition Ticket to The Steaming Pot.**

 **This ticket grants an all expensed paid trip to the number one hot springs, sauna, bath house and hotel in all the Fire Nation.'**

Naruto whistled, very impressed. "Wow Ty Lee, how in the name of Agni did you get those?" It was very well known that Ty Lee wasn't exactly the richest one out of the group of friends. So managing to get her hands on those was quite the surprise to Naruto.

"Oh, I literally just bumped into this man and he…" She paused, eyes going blank for a second before regaining her usual mirth. "… _gave_ them to me."

* * *

Ty Lee watched as a man, one High Admiral Zhao, managed to win the lucky prize in a little raffle, getting his grubby hands onto the four tickets to 'The Steaming Pot'.

As she watched him make his way home while deciding on whom to invite to the paid trip, Ty Lee recalled him being rather mean to Naruto, shouting at and cursing him whenever Azula wasn't around. She had no idea what those tickets were, but the man seemed pleased with them, placing them into his coat pocket neatly. So, deciding to take revenge, she ran and bumped right into him, her hand darting into his pocket and picking up the tickets in a second.

"Sorry, grandpa!" She sped past him, leaving the man no time to comprehend what had happened.

"Damn you, girl! You'd better run!"

No remorse was felt that day as she grinned at the handful of tickets. Ty Lee wondered if Azula liked hot springs.

* * *

"That was generous of him." Naruto accepted the answer. People were very kind to Ty Lee due to her friendly nature and good looks, so it came to no surprise that she got a gift for free.

"Yeah, real generous." She nodded along, knowing that the man was still fuming when he had found out that he had been pickpocketed.

"So, shall we get going? Wouldn't want to spoil Azula's birthday by not showing up on time now do we?"

She grabbed his arm with her own and fell into step with him, Naruto looking very amused. "Indeed we don't." She shot him a wiry smile and leaned into his shoulder as they made their way to the side door of the palace.

She would have been walking on her hands but supposed that holding Naruto with her feet wasn't as enjoyable as it currently was.

* * *

 _ **Chapter end.**_

* * *

 _More fluff in this chapter._

Sorry I made such a short one, I don't have time as I'll be taking leave tomorrow for about two weeks to a trip in Japan and won't be able to post anything in the meanwhile. I'll be writing on my phone but I just won't be able to post anything since I won't have a computer. I'll be sure to write more when I get back.

Anyways, sorry to disappoint you if I have with this one.

 _ **SHAMLESS SELF-ADVERTISING.  
**_ _  
If you liked this story, check out my other ones. They're pretty alright if you like Naruto + Crossovers._

My own personal favourites of my own stories are Under My Wing and Traitor of Konoha.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks and goodbye.

\- Ryan (Urethane).


	3. F: A Beautiful Monster?

_**AUTHOR NEEDS YOUR HELP.**_

 _ **LIKE SERIOUSLY.**_

 _ **IF YOU LOVE THIS STORY AND WANT IT TO CONTINUE, READ THE BOTTOM TO FIND OUT HOW TO HELP ME OUT.**_

 _Fluff chapter warning. Explanation at the bottom of the fic._

* * *

 _In the palace of the Fire Lord, two figures were fighting in the throne room, balls of fire travelling around as they attempted to take each other out to win the Fire Lord's favour. Punching fast and quick, the man threw two fireballs at the brave little princess, who simply moved left to dodge it._

 _With prowess, the lean, small girl ran forwards and, with a spring in her next stride, pushed herself upwards and flipped into the air gracefully. Her body performed a complete stationary backflip acrobatically and time seemed to slow as the fireball that was originally targeted at her chest, dangerously brushed past her calm visage, nearly singeing all of her lashes and brows off of her pretty face._

 _Her opponent gawped at the sight of the girl slowly spinning in the air, her leg suddenly sticking outwards like a top, curling as she prepared to release her attack._

 _She smirked, knowing that she had just won._

 _Not anticipating the sudden attack during her acrobatic move, he was too slow to react. He tried bringing his hands up to his chest, to wash her flames out with his own red ones, deciding to overwhelm her hotter flames with more fire._

 _Too late. The princess was faster._

 _'No!'_

 _Her leg flicked outwards like a tiger-mouse trap, sending a wave of blue rushing forwards, meeting the man's undefended chest. With a loud 'Oof!', he was sent sprawling towards the ground, the blast of fire feeling like a powerful punch. He came to a stop at the feet of the judge, who clapped once and signalled the medics to come over before gesturing to Azula as the winner._

 _Groaning, the man lay on the ground as a round of slow claps came from the fiery throne that was to the left of the fight. Up upon the seat of the Fire Lord, Ozai smiled as his daughter took down the grown man, clapping slowly. Azula bowed lowly before Ozai, hiding a happy smile that took over her face, glad that her father had praised her._

 _"Well done, Azula." Ozai spoke lowly, pride clear as day in his voice, "I see you have been practising, haven't you." Azula stood up straight before bobbing her head, nodding in confirmation, biting her lip as she spoke. Not out of fear, but out of shame._

 _"Yes, I have father. Every day since… my last defeat." The girl's face dropped slightly, still not accepting the fact that she had lost to her father's royal entourage of guards, especially the newest member. Despite her age, the princess was powerful, giving most of the Fire Nation's elite Fire Benders a hard time against her. She proved herself time and time again, losing ever so often during a blue moon. Each loss drove the princess to work harder, to become stronger, just to bask in her father's short and rare praises. But to bask in her father's praises came with an unhealthy problem, an obsession to get better. She had hurt herself over and over again trying out new techniques, falling down and gaining bruises and cuts. Moves she wanted to incorporate into her fighting style kept her up at night, the little girl sitting at her table as moonlight provided the lonesome girl company, mentally performing the moves she read on scrolls, adding them to her arsenal of skills._

 _"Oh, yes. Keep it up." And just like that, he moved on from her. She really did wish that he gave her more attention, it was the only reason she had trained so hard. But each time she gained his attention for a handful of seconds, it would be lost, the spotlight that had briefly shun on her moved yet again to another place, where his expectations of her were raised further. Deep down inside, it hurt… it hurt so much to not have any attention from her father. He used to spend so much time together with her, telling her all about the history of the Fire Nation and teaching her how to be a proper rule 'when the time came', whatever that meant._

 _"On to other things, princess…" She unconsciously gritted her teeth as he addressed her formally, she just wanted to be called her own name by her father, was it too much to ask for? The princess moved her arm behind her back, fist clenching tightly, restraining from getting angry. Smile, as shaky as it was, still on her face, her sharpened nails dug into the flesh of her palm, but the pain was ignored by her, choosing to focus on her father's words despite her rage._

 _"I have someone I want you to meet." He gestured to the left of his darkened seat, next to the armrest. Azula looked puzzled, there was no one there. Then, like a spectre, a boy with hair the colour of gold came out, rising from the shadowed floor where he had been lying down on. Like the colour of her flames, his bright blue eyes opened up, staring at the princess with a great deal of interest._

 _"I'd like you to meet your new butler and bodyguard, Naruto."_

* * *

 _"I DON'T WANT A STUPID BODYGUARD!" She stomped forwards and grabbed the chair that sat at her drawer, flinging it behind her back, directly at Naruto, who had followed her into her room as the Fire Lord instructed._

 _"Please calm down, Azula." Naruto held his hands out placating but quickly ducked as a chair soared past his head, crashing into the wall and breaking into pieces. The princess was in her room, having a fit, her newly assigned butler unable to calm her down. It was fair for her to have a fit, he supposed, seeing as how the girl was very much younger than him._

 _"Don't you call me that! I'm the princess to you!" Azula turned on him, furious that such a lowly peasant was addressing her so… so casually!_

 _"Really? Because you're not acting like a princess now." Naruto looked at her furious face, expression varying from annoyance to uncaring. "Right now, in front of me, all I see is-" He leaned into her face, ember meeting azure, he whispered harshly, staring her down. "-A_ _ **\- spoiled – little - brat**."_

 _In shock, Azula snarled. "H-How dare you! I'll-" Her hand came up in an attempt to slap the courageous boy in the face. But Naruto grabbed her wrist gently, holding it out in front of her._

 _"You'll what? Banish me? Fire Lord Ozai already knows of your reputation of banishing anything and everything you don't like and has given me immunity, only he can banish me. Besides, I can simply go back to my home in the woods, nothing lost to me. Lord Ozai was the one who hired me after all, I didn't apply to this job. Or maybe you'll make me clean up the palace for you? You'll make a mess? I'll just clean it up; it's not a big deal for me. I've cleaned things up before, washing, sweeping, dusting, I've done it all my life. You think that's going to make me give up? No. I never give up, especially not to someone who wants to purposefully make my life difficult."_

 _Naruto shook his head disappointingly, looking into Azula's wavering ember globes, and her quivering lips. Her ferocity had died down, her angry and confident eyes were, admittedly, bravely looking him in the eye, but were shaking, trembling. He could even hear the sniffles she was trying to hide. He knew she was on the verge of crying, that much was obvious. But the thing was, no matter how cunning she was, how scary she could be to others._

 _She was just a child. And eventually, a child would break and cry, no matter what kind of child they were._

 _As much as he didn't want to, he would have to make her cry now. To ensure that the girl he was taking care of could grow up to be an exceptional woman who could be entrusted to do what was right in the future, who had once been tainted by her war-mongering father, grandfather and great-grandfather, h_ _e had to impart a lesson to her, ensure that she remembered his words. To guarantee that she would become a great leader, ruling her country like it should have been ruled._

 _"But in the end, it'll only make you look like a petty little **monster**."_

 _Ah. That word. Azula couldn't stop the two tears from slowly flowing down her cheeks, recalling the looks her mother had given her when she had unknowingly done rather cruel things, like pushing maids around and banishing workers of the palace from the Fire Nation._

 _It was the reason she loved Zuko more than she did._

 _She knew it. SHE KNEW IT. **SHE KNEW IT.**_

 _ **A MONSTER. SHE WAS A MONSTER.**_

 _A monster. Ursa never said it, but Azula knew she was thinking about it. Countless nights spent, tugging at her hair, wishing that her mother would take it back. Take all of the thoughts that she had about her daughter and change it._

 _Of course, none of them were true. Ursa was just horrified that Ozai had manipulated her beautiful baby into doing such acts, wondering if she had messed up as a mother along the way._

 _Azula's misconception about the whole situation when she saw her mother and elder brother playing together in the gardens, where they fed the turtle-ducks and Zuko got bit by the mother duck –that brought a smile to her face- made the girl spend more time with her father, allowing the deceptive man to corrupt the little girl further in attempts to turn her into the perfect heir, a job in which, in his opinion, his son had failed._

* * *

 _ **Flashback (A year ago)**_

 _Ursa smiled as the baby turtle-duck swam up to her hand, nibbling on the piece of bread she had in her palm._

 _Zuko watched as his mother did so, "Hey mom, you wanna see how Azula feeds turtle-ducks?" Tossing the loaf of bread in his hands at the baby turtle-duck, the animal screeched as the bread hit the water beside it, splashing it violently and scaring the little creature._

 _"Zuko!" Ursa admonished, "Why would you do that?"_

 _The duck squeaked as it resurfaced, shaking it's tiny little yellow head and swimming away before a larger turtle-duck, darker in colour, rushed forwards quacking, beak wide open._

 _Chomp! It took a bite of the crown prince's ankle._

 _"Ah! Ow! Ow-ow-ow-ow!" Ursa rushed to her son's side and pulled the turtle-duck off her son gently by the shell, carefully placing it back into the water. As soon as the animal was set back into the water, it left quickly with its babies in tow._

 _Zuko curled his legs up to his chest, grumbling angry at the incident. "Stupid turtle-duck! Why did it bite me?"_

 _"Zuko, that's what moms are like." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "If you mess with their babies…" She leaned down quickly and swallowed the air beside his cheek, making a playful chomping noise. "They bite you back!" They both laughed and hugged each other, Zuko learning a valuable lesson about mothers that day._

* * *

 _Ozai smiled as he stood next to the window, his daughter standing next to him watching as his wife and son laughed and played, an empty look on the princess's face._

 _"Don't worry, Azula. I'll be here for you." He smiled happily, knowing that he could mould his daughter into the perfect soldier with his pacifistic son being distracted unknowingly by his wife, their daughter already slipping out of her reach, too late to save from him as he sunk his claws into the amber eyed little girl. "Now, how about I tell you more about the rich history of the Fire Nation?" The girl then looked lost for a moment before her face turn to one of resolution. She had made her choice there and then. Logic unable to comprehend why her mother did not love her,_

 _Her mother did not love her. Her father did._

 _Little did she know, he was brainwashing his daughter, slowly filling her head up with the Red Nation's propaganda, to ensure her loyalty did not stray away from the path he had set for her, to become weak like Zuko._

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK END.**_

 _Thus, Lady Ursa's attempts at rectifying the connection with her daughter was all but broken after Azula adopted one too many of Ozai's traits, habits she had picked up after spending too much time in her father's presence, influenced by the man's actions. Day after day, the woman longed to be with her daughter, wishing she could be the mother the girl was currently missing. Desperately longing for the day her daughter was smile warmly at her while the older woman brushed her hair._

 _Luckily for Lady Ursa, her answer came in the form of a shaggy haired blonde boy, ironically hired by the very man that corrupted her daughter in the first place._

 _Azula blinked, snapping back into reality. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed when Naruto guided her to her bed, setting her down onto the plush material._

 _"Even though I don't know you well, Azula, I can tell that you're_ _ **not** a monster." Her downcast eyes looked up at him in shock, wide open. What? What did he mean by that? Slow and soft, his words began to enter her ears, where they went directly into her heart. It actually hurt her heart, in a good way, from how much he genuinely cared for her, someone he had just met. "You're spoiled, yes, and you're also a victim of abusing the power given to you by banishing people you don't like, but not a monster." The girl had the decency to look abashed by his words._

 _"Just like any other normal and sane person, you want to be loved, and there's nothing wrong with that. And judging by how your father dismissed your achievements so easily," The girl flinched at his words and as his hands cupped her cheeks softly and wiping her tears away caringly. "I could tell that. Hiding your emotions isn't going to help you in the least, that's why I want you to confide in me, not as your butler or bodyguard, but as your **friend** …"_

 _He would have gone and taken the chair for himself but… He looked at the pile of expensive firewood that sat at the side of the door to her room… it was 'preoccupied' at the moment. After her tears were wiped off, he began kneeling in front of her, Naruto was holding out her hands, both of which were bloodied. Her sharp nails hadn't cut deep, but had broken the skin and a little flesh, allowing blood to leak from her ten small wounds at the upper points of her palms._

 _"What… What are you doing…" Azula spoke softly, her nose red standing out on her pale skin like her bloodshot ember eyes, her pride broken after being talked down by her butler. She had cried so much when she was revisiting her memories about mother not loving her and she hadn't even noticed._

 _"As your friend, I can't leave you when you're hurt, right? But I also can't let my future queen go around hurting herself can I?" He smiled and she blushed at his words, adding red to her pale cheeks. Grabbing his sleeves, in a swift movement, Naruto ripped them off and wrapped them around her palms, the red liquid soaking up into the cloth. Tying a small knot at the back of her palms, he ensured that the two makeshift bandages were tight enough to stop blood from flowing out any further. Standing up, he smiled at her before wagging a finger at her in a motherly fashion._

 _"I'll go out to the doctor and get some herbs, okay? You stay right here until I get back. That means no moving out of this room, you hear me?" Naruto spoke as he slowly walked to the door before exiting, closing the door softly. The princess absently nodded to his words, her fiery spirit temporarily dampened by the new revelation of having a friend. Her first friend! And-And he wasn't afraid of her! Like all the other kids were!_

 _It was amazing, the feeling that welled up in her chest-_

 _Her heart suddenly thumped very loudly, and the girl quickly brought her palms up to the surface of her chest, tiny fingertips touching her protruding collarbone as she sucked in a breath deeply, shocked by the feeling._

 _'Strange…' She thought, 'I must be getting excited.' She told herself, considering the fact that she had gotten her first friend. Looking out the open doors to her balcony, her pink lips broke out into a radiant smile, one fit to sit on such a beautiful face._

 _Out of the blue, the sun seemed to shine much brighter for Azula._

* * *

 _ **GUYS. I NEED YOUR HELP.** **I HAVE TONS OF STUFF I CAN WRITE FOR THIS FIC BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE.** **I** **JUST** **DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO FROM THE CURRENT TIME (RIGHT BEFORE ZUKO'S BANISHMENT).**_

 _I'm just really confused, to say the least. It's not that I can't write, merely I just don't know how to progress the story._

 _I think I'll try and follow one of my favourite authors, Kenchi618, and do an **alternate path for Azula's Gang to take**. **The thing is that I don't how to come up with such a way and I really need your help.**_

 _ **Do you guys want** to see **more FLUFF chapters or do you want me to begin at Zuko's banishment**?_

 _(Please. Seriously. I really need your help if you want this fic to continue, I know I do.)_

 _ **Give me suggestions on where Azula's Gang can go to.** **Suggestions, anything! I'll try my best to make a setting out of anything from the canon story lines.**_

 _Note, they only begin to hunt for the Avatar and Zuko after the siege on the Water Tribe fucks up._

 _But in canon, Zhao reports the failed siege, which begins Azula's hunt for the Avatar. In this fic Zhao will be killed by Naruto, (who accompanies him towards the Water Tribe siege) for treason against the princess of the Fire Nation, and Naruto will be reporting Zhao's failed siege, claiming that he 'died foolishly in battle', when in reality, his was burnt to nothingness by Naruto's hidden power._

 _That's pretty much all I need from you guys. Supports, reviews and ideas for places they can go searching for the Aang._

* * *

 _ **(SHAMELESS ADVERTISING.)**_

 _Sorry if this chapter wasn't considered a chapter, a fluff chapter like the one in my **RWBY/Naruto fic, UNDER MY WING (WOW, WHAT** **INCONSPICUOUS SELF-ADVERTISING)**._

 _But if you're still reading up to this point, why not go and check my other stories out, maybe there'll be something that interests you there. I have three Naruto fics so far that involve at least the Akatsuki in some way._

 _Eg, **Blood In The Water** (Kisame saved him and was his teacher)._

 _ **The Traitor of Konoha** (Replaces Kakuzu and Itachi, Hidan). _

_And my (not so successful) new one, **Lifted On A Mad Wind** (Naruto is Deidara's big brother, and is the Mad Bomber, going for a realistic, yet, large harem)._

 _And yes, I actually kind of want to write fics involving all of the Akatsuki members and Naruto in some form or way. I've come up with two titles so far but they're just placeholders in case I do come up with something._

 _(Nothing But) Blank Sheets/? – Konan_

 _Held Up By Strings/Tangled In Strings/? - Sasori_

 _I also have other fics, all of them involve Naruto and crossovers, so please do check my stories out if you have time. Thank you!_

 _\- Urethane (Needy teenager)_


	4. Help Me Remember What I Lost

_**Hyellow! Thanks for all of the support and ideas guys, I'll be checking them out as the story progresses!**_

 _ **I'd like to apologize in advance to those who want to see a skip to Zuko's banishment, but you guys were outvoted 2:1, so in a few more chapters we'll get to that. Everyone else wants to see character development as well as fluff. A lot of fluff.**_

 _ **NOTES.**_

 _ **1 - This chapter is heavily focused on Mai, with both chunks of flashbacks belonging to her as a child.**_

 _ **I seriously enjoyed writing her, since I resemble her in both looks as well as being very sarcastic and cynical in real life.**_

 _ **I portrayed her as even more of an apathetic person while she's a child, and made her parents choose out her life for her, leading to her to be such an emotionless person since she never gets to do what she wants.**_

 _ **She also hates social interaction, just like me, except her skin isn't all sorts of fucked up, but that's another story.**_

 _ **2 – Also in this chapter, Amaterasu Naruto makes a brief appearance in a flashback. He really doesn't like people who fucks with his pseudo-family.**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you enjoyed this fourth chapter, pumped out in a lovely timespan of six hours in two days.**_

 _ **So, yeah. This chapter covers mostly about how Mai ticks, as well as a continuation of the 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **chapter.**_

 _ **Please enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review telling me how you felt about this chapter.**_

* * *

" _Like a match already dim and damp, your mind snuffs out." - Naruto_

* * *

 _ **LOCATION: Royal Fire Nation Academy for Boys and Girls**_

 _ **CLASSROOM: 2A**_

* * *

 _A tiny Mai sighed as the teacher slid the 'introduction to class' paper onto her table before moving on. Pulling out the pencil she had in her plain and drab case, Mai stared at the paper before making her move._

 _It was a new year in school, the first day in fact, and good grief was it boring._

 _How repetitive. Every day, the same thing, again and again. Automatically, she picked up her pencil and began filling out her name, then her class, the date. Things she had done over a thousand times in the same neat hand-writing. Honestly, why even bother writing her name? The teacher already knew her hand-writing, everyone did. The girl could write in a monotonous font, a feat very difficult to achieve by her peers. Anyone who didn't like to read books themselves would already fall asleep just by reading her name alone. That was how boring, if not neat, her hand writing was._

 _She glared at the seat in front of her as a crushed paper ball soared from behind her and hit the boy sitting next to her, chuckles coming from the person who tossed the piece of rubbish._

' _Amateurs.' The boy who had been hit, Mai recalled his name as something that went along the lines of, Shu, quietly cried indignantly before he tossed the ball back in a childish form of retaliation, a grin on his face as it made an arc that would have hit his intended target. Mai rolled her eyes and tossed her pencil behind her shoulder, piercing the ball in mid-air, stabbing it with extreme prejudice before it dropped to the ground._

 _If that paper ball had been alive, it certainly wasn't now._

 _Both boys gulped before turning back to their work, silently hoping that the stoic girl wouldn't get pissed off at them again, and aim at them instead._

 _The class knew about her prowess with throwing weapons, in a school densely populated by Fire Benders, Mai had picked up the useful skill out of boredom and in order to show her non-existent bullies –there was a reason why they didn't exist, y'know- that she wasn't some defenceless little girl her parents portrayed her as._

 _Oh, her parents, what wonderful people. They were the reason she had become so… bleak. A victim of her father's political aspirations since early childhood, Mai would later on, in the future, confess about her past to her crush during their afternoon talks that she got anything she wanted from her parents so long as she was quiet, well-mannered and perfectly behaved. Such a way of life had been so deeply ingrained in her; she nearly forgot what emotions she even used as a child before she turned apathetic. But after meeting the blonde idiot she would come to love in the future, expensive and immaterial items that didn't do anything to her in the slightest now and forever had nothing on Naruto, who got the girl to feel like she used to, all the while keeping her snarky attitude._

 _Ignoring her thoughts, neatly organising them and filing them back into the 'parents' category, she turned back to the first question. Time had slipped her and her classmates seemed to already be ahead of her. Scratching was heard through the silent class as her peers did what they were assigned to do, quietly filled out the piece of paper filled to the brim with meaningless questions, and when completed and handed up to the teacher, would probably be incinerated without even being read. Lifting her head up and looking to the front of the class, it was clear that the teacher didn't even care about the class, with his legs propped up on the top of the table and his chair leaning backwards, eyes nearly shut and nearly drifting off to sleep._

 _She sighed, shaking her head before looking back at the paper._

' _What would you like to do when you grow up'. Dear Agni, how dull. She would be doing this again and again for the next few years, why in the Spirits was she even in school? She knew everything, aced every test and was practically the smartest girl of their grade, and the next, and the one after that and then the one after that. Basically, the school was full of incompetent fools who were by far no means 'on her level' and very much slower than she was at absorbing knowledge._

 _Mai was prepared to write a snarky comment that would make the teacher think twice before giving her another slip of paper containing such a stupid question. Grabbing another pencil since her last one was currently buried deep into a paper ball, she placed it on the start, just above the lines. She pressed her pencil against the paper, feeling the paper rub against the lead. And just as she was about to begin a whole paragraph that would rip the teacher's pride apart just from reading it, she paused and looked conflicted for a moment._

 _Taking the question seriously and into consideration for a second, Mai set her lips into a thin line before breathing deeply. The lead of her pencil slid up and down, leaving behind a trail of black, performing the task neatly and efficiently like an animatronic, a machine, one incapable of positive emotions. She was the tin man from that silly story her mother told her before the woman turned power-hungry like everyone in the damned country, searching for something else entirely instead of a real heart._

 _Closing her eyes, Mai felt incredibly stupid for what she was doing, trying to ignore the entirety of her that was telling her to stop, berating her for what she was doing, something so moronic. It was an act many others her age would do while blowing out a candle or seeing a shooting star, one she considered to rank amongst Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, make-believe bullshit to fool children into making dumb decisions and poor life choices… Wishing. She supposed it couldn't hurt just to try it out._

" _Time's up! Please hand your sheets up to the front." Placing her pencil down, she slid the paper out from the table top, watching as for the first time, she only completed a single question instead of filling every single one with confidence-shattering words, words that could make a grown man cry. Instead, she merely filled out the first question, ignoring the rest, in the form of five words._

 _Five words that would never be read by anyone ever because, as she predicted with extreme precision, the papers were later incinerated by the teachers, just like every unimportant piece of paper that ever came into contact with her._

' _ **I want to be happy.'**_

* * *

 _ **TIMESKIP TO: MAI WAS AT AZULA'S SIXTH BIRTHDAY PARTY.**_

 _ **LOCATION: Underneath the willow tree, hiding from being befriended by complete and total morons from people of her age group.**_

* * *

 _Underneath the willow tree, Mai took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. What was wrong with her?_

 _Ever since she had written that stupid answer to that damn test she just couldn't get this… this heaviness off of her. It annoyed her to no end, how she, as a child genius, was being troubled. This feeling had made her think about her life so far and what was in store for her. If it was even possible, she became even more apathetic because of the stupid answer she gave, questioning what she had to live for._

 _Had life escaped her so easily? Once everything was filled in colours, all things bright and beautiful, and now, everything was monochrome, dreary and dead._

 _She'd think that she'd be happy with everything she had ever wanted handed to her on a silver platter… Oh, so that was the reason she was so apathetic, lifeless._

 _Mai grabbed her weapon of choice, custom stilettos made for throwing, from the gauntlet on her arm that was hidden by her baggy sleeves, chucking one at the snail shell that sat at the top of a rock with a quick flick of her wrist._

 _The tiny metal pike travelled through the air, cutting through the wind, unhindered by anything. Piercing the shell, it travelled further, getting stuck in the dirt. Frowning, she wished she could be like that. But it was much too late. Locked and buried were her emotions and the key tossed into the sea of requests her parents pushed upon her, leaving her no time to answer._

If only…

' _ **When daddy's friends come over I want you to greet them, can you do that honey?'**_

She'd…

' _ **Honey, be silent and daddy will buy you whatever you want, okay? The meeting is important.'**_

Just…

' _ **Go and befriend the princess darling, it'll be good for the family.'**_

Listened…

' _ **I know we didn't ask for your opinion, but we hired you a tutor, darling. It's for the best.'**_

To…

' _ **Can you-'**_

Herself…

' _ **Dear, do me a favour-'**_

' _BREATHE!'_

 _Mai's eyes widened and she gasped hard, coughing furiously. She had been so lost in her anger; she had forgotten to even breathe. Regaining her breath, she closed her eyes and calmed her heart down, wiping her forehead of the tiny beads of sweat she had gained during her anger-induced trance._

 _Years ago, she used to be… normal… Now… Now she was just this… broken girl who just couldn't feel anymore. Joy was an alien to the girl and when she could even feel other emotions, they were faint and empty, nothing but a husk of what they used to be._

 _This was her life, she supposed, to be alone forever, unable to even bother holding a conversation with people her age due to her thinking they were all but Neanderthals, her gloomy aura, and even if they could stand that, she still had a back-up of constant cynicism, sarcastic humour and a depressing outlook on everything. Grabbing another stiletto, she angrily tossed it. The pike speared a falling leaf, dead centre, pinning it against the wood of a bench overseeing the koi pond._

" _Good shot." A voice came to her left. Without even blinking, Mai twisted her wrist and released one of her weapons into her hand, the sharp stick on the throat of her speaker in an instant, "Oh, she's fast. What do you think, Azula?" The voice now sounded amused._

" _I don't think killing royalty will do you any good." Said another voice. Mai frowned before she blinked twice. She then realised that her wrist had been caught by another person, following her arm to the offending hand on her wrist, she met the eyes of a dashing boy with spiky and shaggy yellow hair. He was the one who had spoken first, an amused smile on his face. Then her eyes went to the second voice and saw the face of the (in)famous Azure Princess._

" _Nice to meet you," She smiled as Naruto gently pulled the weapon out of her hand, ensuring to disarm her, before slowly releasing her hand. "As you already know, I'm Princess Azula, and this is Naruto. Say, would you like to be friends?"_

* * *

 _Two hours later and Naruto was sitting next to Mai, Azula excusing herself a little while ago to tell the guests that the party was over. And that it was time to leave… before she burnt someone._

 _Surprisingly, Mai felt the emotion she thought were lost to her rise up when she spoke to Azula and Naruto. At first sceptical, Mai soon found out that Azula had a sharp tongue and a brilliant, cunning mind, while Naruto was nicer than the princess was, but equally as smart, if not a little clueless sometimes. She enjoyed their company because they weren't blubbering simpletons who tripped and fumbled around in their ignorance, trying to use words that they didn't even know of or, in general, weren't like the people she was so used to._

 _But Naruto was the one, the first Fire Bender that didn't look down upon her just because she wasn't able to bend like so many others did. In fact, he actually found the fact that she could use throwing weapons to be very impressive and had, astonishingly, asked for lessons in order to improve his arsenal of skills. Azula had jabbed a few time at her inability to bend, but a few looks from Naruto stopped that, the girl looking way unhappily. Mai easily figured that the princess had a thing for the handsome boy, and could understand why._

" _Hey, Mai, you wanna go get something to eat with Azula and me later? Three's a party, y'know."_

"I don't…" She paused, eyes wide as her inner Mai began scrolling through her neatly arranged memories before pulling out two specific ones.

* * *

' _ **I want to be happy.'**_

* * *

 _If only she'd just listen to herself…_

* * *

" _I… I…" Naruto looked at her, patiently awaiting her answer. And it came in the form of a tiny, minute smile came onto her face when she had made her decision._

" _I think I'd like that."_

" _Cool," He grinned, "Follow me to the palace's kitchen, I'm cooking tonight." He waggled his eyebrows proudly and the younger girl smirked._

 _"What're you making?"_

 _"Homemade special ramen, food fit for kings," Then he looked unsure as he pulled her up off the grass, the afternoon sun bathing the world in orange, "Although, Lord Ozai disagrees with that statement," Naruto shrugged, the girl smiling at his words, "But what does he know. He's just a grumpy old man."_

 _That night, as the trio slurped up bowls of delicious ramen, she realised that she had achieved what she had wrote down on that stupid piece of paper. The stupid piece of paper that had her figure out what she wanted for herself and not what her parents wanted for her._

 _She became happy, for once in a long, long time._

* * *

 _ **TIMESKIP TO END OF CHAPTER 2.**_

 _ **LOCATION: PALACE BALLROOM, AZULA'S 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **BIRTHDAY PARTY**_

* * *

In the midst of the palace's ballroom, the princess's birthday was going splendidly. Guest did what they did best and tried to outshine each other with large and magnificent gifts to the princess, each trying to show their family's wealth in a contest that the teen had no care of. Brown-nosing was so common in the Fire Nation it was practically a wide spread disease amongst the rich and, surprisingly, the poor. All tried to get on the good side of the prince and the princess, hoping to be lucky enough to be invited to live in the palace with her like the two lucky girls, she considered her best friends, did.

Alas, if brown-nosing was ever fatal, it would have wiped out more than a third of the entire population of the Great Red.

"No, seriously Ty Lee, how in the name of Agni did you afford these?" Azula stuck her hand out, showing her the four crimson tickets bordered with a gold trim. Ty Lee bit her lower lip and began looking like she was thinking hard. "No offence," She said, knowing that Naruto would admonish her kindly if she didn't be nice on her birthday, "But I know very well that you can't afford these…" She paused, looking confused, "Wait, where are you getting money from anyways?"

"Oh! Naruto gives me part of his pay check," Azula sighed. Spirits damn that boy. "And I remember!" She hopped up into the air as she cheered; glad that she could recall the reason she had even gotten them in the first place. Mai slapped her forehead. Honestly, Ty Lee was so clever, yet so scatter-brained, that she could literally be fooled into doing anything if you could subtly manipulate her natural kindness. She seriously worried for Ty Lee at times, hoping that some sicko wouldn't trick her best friend into doing something disgusting. Agni knew that the girl would do it without a second thought if it meant 'helping' people. Also, she made a mental note to check if Ty Lee's brain had any holes in it that gave her short term memory.

Ty Lee nodded to herself, grinning. "A silly old grandpa gave them to me." Mai looked uncertain and slightly angered.

"And he didn't do… anything to you? Or ask for anything?" She asked with narrowed eyes. Let it be said that the girl had really grown on Mai, and the apathetic girl had considered Ty Lee to be equivalent to that of an annoying little sister, but a sister nevertheless. Azula was her fraternal twin sister that, despite not looking alike, shared the same level of intelligence, if not differing by at least a few one digit numbers, as well as being able to use the same level of sarcastic, sardonic humour that could obliterate a grown man's pride completely.

The acrobat looked at Mai before shaking her head.

"Nope, nope, nope!" Then her head tilted to the side, making her look very much like a lost, but very elated, puppy. "He did say some bad things to me though, words that Azula uses all the time!" The princess looked aghast for a moment as some of the guests for her birthday turned to her with a questioning look. The girl faced them and gave a polite, but fake, smile and waved their concerns off, sending them off to the table that held a mountain of mouth-watering food, an array of expensive alcohols and delicacies not found in the Fire Nation.

Harshly, she whispered back to Ty Lee, "I do not!"

"Yeah, you totally do." Ty Lee wagged a finger and Azula tried to reach out and break the finger off of her hand, "You called me a man-snatcher when I asked Naruto out to fish fire-fishies."

"Tch," She hissed, clearly annoyed by the incident when Naruto had left the palace with a smiling Ty Lee in tow, saying that he was going to go fishing with the ex-circus entertainer. "I never did that. Don't put words I never…" She corrected herself. As she did so, Mai managed a tiny smirk, "… have yet to say in my mouth."

"What's in your mouth?"

"Aah!" Azula squealed as Naruto appeared behind her, a confused look on his face. Blushing up a storm, the princess stomped hard on his foot.

"Aaah-Ow!" He howled, hopping on one foot while his hands massaged his just stepped on foot, the guests giving the hopping boy amused looks, Why'd you do that 'Zula-chan?!" He wailed.

"Oh drop the act you big dum-dum. Besides, don't blame for you scaring me. I just reacted naturally." The princess folding her arms up, looking away haughtily to hide her blush. How embarrassing, making such a fearful noise in front of Naruto. Gah, if trying to win Naruto's affection was a game, she was sure that she had been deducted two points by the referee.

He looked horrified than in pain at this point, "You paused for a second before deciding to step on my foot!"

"Exactly." She smirked, "Naturally."

Then Naruto sported a mischievous look on his face, "I suppose it was fair that you stepped on my foot for scaring you, at least I could hear you make such a cute noise." Or maybe gain two points?

Unable to take his answer as a compliment, she set herself up for another pit-fall, losing another two points.

 **"I – will - kill - you."** She spoke through grit teeth. The points floated away as she shook her fist at him, the imaginary referee rolling his eyes at Azula's ability to get angry easily. Naruto didn't take it too seriously though, choosing to laugh about it.

"Sure, sure, Azula-chan." He waved away her threat before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a sleek black box, that looked like it could fit a pair of chopsticks, shined brightly under the chandelier's white light. Ebony wood that had been polished finely and then coated with a special kind of resin, fibreglass, to ensure that it wouldn't break if struck. The girls looked very interested at this point, with Azula's eyes being wide open.

She really hoped that it wasn't chopsticks. I mean, she could use it to eat food with or as an accessory to hold up her hair if she tied it up into a bun… Or she could stab someone with it… But, y'know, chopsticks weren't exactly a good birthday gift.

"Here, I made this for you. Well, not the box, I provided the wood for that." He opened the case and Azula looked very surprised at the inside. Sitting on a bed of black silk, a black string was threaded through a small blue bead the colour of his eyes, what appeared to be a piece of jade, which was then was topped off with another blue bead. Ty Lee had her cheeks in her hands and was squealing excitedly for Azula. Despite being a competitor for Naruto, she couldn't help but feel happy for Azula, who seemed to really like the gift if her dropped jaw was anything to go by. Mai had the same sentiments and was smiling softly at Azula's face. Make no mistake, she was pretty jealous, but she knew that Naruto would do the same for her and Ty Lee on their birthdays as well.

"This is what I made for you, as a birthday gift. This is what I found on Ember Island the last time we went. I kind of picked it up and grinded it down to this size then polished it." She looked up, awestruck into his smiling visage. "It's so that I'll always be with you, even when I'm not." Using one hand, he gently removed the necklace and shut the box, slipping it back into his pocket for now. Moving to Azula, he carefully unclasped the necklace before pausing.

"Do I have the permission to give the princess her gift?" She held her head down and spoke softly, the redness burning hard in her cheeks.

"Y-Yes… Yes, you do." His wrists brushed across her neck and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Goosebumps began forming on her skin as his fingers rubbed the nape of her pale, turning red, skin, clicking the necklace in place on her. Removing his hands, he admired how the necklace looked on Azula, sitting above her growing bosom.

"Happy eleventh birthday Azula-chan," He said quietly, "You like it?" Azula traced her fingertips above the gem, smiling unconsciously.

"Yeah, I-I love it." She truly did. Utterly touched by the gift, she hugged Naruto and Ty Lee cheered, whooping loudly. Mai snorted, but still smiled. She knew what her 'fraternal twin' had gone through in her life so far: losing her mother that she had recently reconnected with. She supposed that Azula could have her moment.

Losing Ursa was a huge blow to the girl, her father apparently feeling that Ursa had gotten much too close to her had finally banished her for treason and assassination of the previous Fire Lord, Azulon. Of course, none of them knew that he had really done so due to Azula and Ursa's bridges being rebuilt, not to mention the fact that she could poison him like she did his father.

Azula hadn't been awake when Ursa left, but was sure that she had stopped by her room seeing as her door was slightly ajar. Ursa had also been to Naruto's room briefly before moving on to Zuko's room, and she had awoken him. She reminded him of her true, strong motherly love and told him to always remember who he was, no matter how things seemed to change. Then she fled from the Fire Nation, branded as a traitor.

Ozai had known that Ursa had been sending letters to her old hometown, Hira'a, trying to contact her old childhood sweetheart Ikem. It was a pity that none of them ever reached the place. Ursa's trusted messenger had betrayed her, giving the letters to Ozai, whom she feared greatly. Ozai's assassin for Ikem had lost the man in the Forgetful Valley, where he was assumed to have perished on his own.

But Ursa had also known that Ozai was intercepting her letters, and when she was banished for killing Azulon, had informed Naruto after visiting her daughter that she was leaving and had given him an idea on who betrayed her, the old woman Elua, and she had even begged that he take care of her babies. He promised he would and the woman thanked him with a motherly hug. He assured the

Naruto had ensured that Elua had been rightly punished for betraying the First Lady of the Fire Nation before she was cast out. It was technically treason, considering Elua had betrayed her whilst she was still part of the Royal Family, despite the woman working on Ozai's order. Betrayal was betrayal, no matter who allowed it.

If Ursa leaving wasn't bad enough, it got even worse for Azula. After months of helping their relationship get better, the old woman had broken Ursa's bridge from connecting to Azula's. The girl was stricken with grief, looking very detached from the world of the living when she awoke to find her mother missing, retreating back into her room, hiding under her sheets. It had taken a lot of coaxing to bring Azula out from under the blankets, and even more hugs and comforting words to get her to release her sadness.

Well, to Naruto it was. And seeing as how the boy saw the kind woman as family, and how the old traitor hurt his family, he made sure that Elua took an… _indefinite vacation._

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

* * *

 _The night was young, moonbeams breaking through the slightly ajar window of the upper floors to the servant's quarters, illuminating the bookshelf that was currently missing a book and the stool beside it. A figure sat in it, back leaned against the bookshelf, a book in his hand, reading it. He flicked a page slowly, the sound of paper rubbing against paper filled the room. Looking away as he heard the rushed footsteps going up the stone steps, fear in every step as they headed straight for the room they were currently in, hoping to get a good night's sleep, he assumed. He snapped the book shut like a clam with one hand and slid the book back into the shelf where he had originally taken it from. He didn't want to move things from their original places, it would be rather suspicious that something she had no reason to touch was out of place was there? The burst open and an old woman stumbled inside._

 _Ah. Just the person he was looking for._

 _"Hello, Elua." He spoke politely and smiled, "Pleasant night isn't it?" The old woman spun around fast for her age, staring in shock at the teen boy in her room._

 _"Na-Naruto? What are you doing in my room?!" The old woman asked rather irritably. Her emotions were haywire right now, frayed from betraying the woman that trusted her and from being afraid of the man who now held the title of Fire Lord, everything at the moment was really getting to the old woman._

 _"Well, a mama bird told me a little secret… And I want to know some things."_

 _She gulped heavily, hoping that he wasn't implying what he was implying, "W-What do you mean?" His eyes lost the mirth they usually held._

 _"Why, exactly, did you betray Ursa?"_

 _"I-I have n-no idea what you're talking about." She mumbled to the boy sitting in the stool, "Now if you'd please-"_

 _"Why do you insist on lying to me? You know the truth, so tell me alllll about it, would you?"_

 _"You-You don't understand!" She protested, giving herself away to him before he had even spoken out what he wanted to do, "I-I was ordered to do so! I have to listen to Lord Ozai! H-He's the king, but I'd ne-never willingly betray Lady Ursa!"_

 _"True. He might be the king, but the thing is… I never voted for him." He stood up slowly, like a panther, ready to seize his prey. His teeth were unnerving, his canine fangs looking like those of a fox with the sickening smile he had on his face. He continued, slowly stalking towards the wide eyed and wrinkled woman. He waved his hand as she tried talking, an annoyed look on his face._

 _"Everything else you have to say is inconsequential to me, all of them unimportant. Lady Ursa already informed me of everything. She didn't specifically say that it was you who had betrayed her or asked for your punishment, but it was very obvious-" He gestured to the pile of opened letters on the table. "-that you had done it."_

 _He paused before looking at her shaking form, "And can you guess what the cost for treason is? Here's the answer: Capital punishment, death."_

 _"No!" She begged, "Please, you have to understand. Ozai would have-"_

 _"You fear Ozai?" Naruto spat at the woman, "Tch, you should have feared_ _ **me** more." His fists lit up, but instead of the orange she had seen him bend before, ebony began rippling out from under his pores, a glow of darkness covering the room. Fatigue kicked her in the face and her knees buckled from the aura his flames radiated._

 _"Come now, don't you want to run?" He cackled, "The door's right there! Go! Run free! Run from the monster!" Abruptly, his laughter stopped as he stared emptily at her quivering form, "No? Well, alright, suit yourself."_

 _"Wh-W-What?-" The woman stuttered at the sight of the boy's black flames. What she had felt from Ozai hadn't been fear._

 _This was fear._

 _"As someone who never had a family, as an orphan, do you know **how** **much** I absolutely hate people that were the ones to break them apart in the first place? A lot. A whole fuckin' lot. You're not the first, and you won't be the last."_

 _Unable to move, eyes glued to his flickering forearms. It was pure evil in a physical state, licking the very air in the room. Breathing was made ten times difficult, from either the flames or the fact that the woman was hyperventilating very fast. As the stygian fire travelled up his wrists, he continued talking, undeterred by the fact that black flames were in his possession._

 _"Don't worry though," He spoke in a placating voice, her hopes going up as they heard his next words, "Since you wished it so badly, I can assure you that you're not in any form of trouble with Ozai." Then he began walking again, her rasping gasps getting louder and louder as the charcoal coloured flames neared._

 _"Unfortunately, you're in trouble with me," At this point, they were up to his shoulders, flames that made her sweat cold, "And this is just for taking away the mother of the heir, Crown Prince Zuko and the next in line for the throne, Princess Azula." His voice echoed in her head as his immolated fingertips neared her forehead._

 _The fingertip touched her forehead, sizzling as it breached her wrinkled skin. She couldn't scream, the agony overwhelming her body from just a single touch. The pain caused her eyes to roll to the back of her head, but she was still alive and conscious, able to feel every second of her brain being set alight, unable to just **die**. _

_If she wasn't feeling the guilt already, she certainly was feeling the guilt from betraying Ursa now._

 _" **I'll wash your guilt away."** He met bone, her ivory skull blackening beneath his immolated fingertip. **"This should put your mind at… ease."**_

 _And then his finger pierced her skull._

* * *

 _Ozai stared at the tower that was engulfed in orange flames, his soldiers doing their best to put it out by sucking the energy it produced into their bodies. Soon enough, the fire was out, but it was much too late. Elua was missing and everything she had in the tower was scorched. Ozai supposed that she had tried to escape from the nation due to the guilt of betraying Ursa, burning everything to get rid of the evidence. But to him, she was just another loose end that needed to be taken care of without him having to dirty his hands._

 _"Commander," The man beside him saluted, "Get me General Shinu, I want one of the Yuyuan Archers to hunt for someone."_

* * *

 _Naruto tossed the woman's body into the ditch he had made and began burying the lifeless body up. Muttering softly to himself, he gave the corpse one last parting statement._

 _"And eye for an eye, a life destroyed for a destroyed life." He sniffed uncaringly, shovelling more dirt into the quickly filling pit. "Perhaps you'll learn something in the next life."_

 _"Never fuck with my family." He tossed the last shovelful of dirt onto the burial ground, patting it down with the face of the shovel. There, good as new. Whistling, he walked back to the palace, shovel on his shoulder._

 _As Azula once said to him, 'Whoever said revenge wasn't sweet, was probably an Air Bender'. He'd have to agree with that statement._

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK END**_

* * *

" _-Ruuuutoooo~! Naaaarutoooo~!"  
_  
He blinked, breaking out of the memory. Ty Lee was right in his face, smiling happily as she called out to him in cheerful whispers.

"So? So? So? Are you coming with? Pleeeaaase, come with! Come with!" She grinned and Naruto chuckled at her adorableness. What people would find annoying and irritating about Ty Lee after being with her for a while never occurred with Naruto. He truly did enjoy her presence, much like she enjoyed his.

"Go wher-?" A ticket was shoved into his face, his blue eyes crossing to look at it. It was Ty Lee's present for Azula, and each of the girls held onto a ticket, his being the final one, "Oh, okay. Sure, I thought you'd want to bring Zuko along instead of me." Azula snorted.

"Zuko's… preoccupied right now." She jabbed her manicured thumb to the incoming boy who was being followed, harassed, by crowds of girls. The boy sped past Azula's clique screaming, looking very terrified as he passed them. The guests separated for the boy and the horde of girls chasing him, looking very amused. Luckily Ozai wasn't here right now, or else he would have given the boy a good dressing down for acting so improper.

"Will you marry me, Zuko?"

"AAAAAHHHHH! NARUTO, SAVE MEEEEEEE!" His voice slowly faded away as he ran down a deserted pathway, out of the ballroom, his fan girls in tow.

"Zuko, show us your Firebending skills!"

"Zuko! Will you sign my-" They vanished down the hallway, the girls laughing at various levels while Naruto chuckled at the Prince's predicament.

"Alright ladies, if we want to get to this place, let's get packing."

Azula held her hand out, stopping him in his tracks. "Wait, father hasn't allowed us to go at all." She spoke, an eyebrow raised as she waited for his answer to that.

Naruto paused, a thoughtful look on his face while the girls looked at him, awaiting his answer. Finally, he shrugged, "Eh, we'll just say Zhao gave us permission to go."

Ty Lee grinned, "Fine by me!" She put her hands on her hips, pointing at Naruto's face, "You'd best beware Naruto, 'cos I'm going to bring my cutest bikini!" Her face was set into a determined one, wanting to make her crush bleed furiously from his nose when he got a sight of her cute Fire-Ferret bikini.

"I'll be the judge of that." He joked, chuckling, not that that the other two girls had taken him seriously. Azula and Mai's eyes both twitched together as they glared at Ty Lee then at each other.

 _They would be the ones bringing the cutest/sexiest bikinis!_

* * *

Er, notes: I will be expanding on Azula's reaction to Ursa leaving in the next chapter. And maybe I'll touch up on either one of these, you tell me which **one** you want to see.

2) Naruto's backstory, time he spends with Piandao and Fat in isolation from society.

3) Maybe a date? For either Mai or Ty Lee. Azula has too much screen time in the story so far, IMO.

4) Other stuff.

If you pick one, but the other isn't picked, it'll eventually happen in the chapters to come.

Thanks once again for all the reviews and support you've given me, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the chapter.

\- Urethane


	5. Love Amongst the Dragons

_Hello, this is Urethane. Gonna keep this AN short. A longer one is at the end. Feel free to read if you wish._

 ** _Things to note in this chapter._**

 _-Piandao knows of Naruto's heritage (when I do reveal his heritage, I have a feeling that many are going to be upset. I hope not though as it does make a lot of sense. I've left like a shit load of clues in the chapters (and I will for those to come as well), so keep an eye out._

 _-There will be no Naruto characters appearing, and if they do, they're just minor cameos at best. I have this strange gripe with people adding in Naruto characters that play a major role in crossovers. It's so boring to me (my opinion) and just… bleh. I wonder if you guys agree with me to a certain extent._

 _-Not much in this chapter except for a piece of Piandao and Naruto's backstory together and Mai's date with Naruto._

* * *

 _Naruto dropped to the ground panting heavily as his master stood before him. The wooden blade he once held tightly in his hand had clattered away from him as he had fallen from exhaustion. Sweat soaked his hair and clothes, and his wet skin caused the dirt from the floor to stick to him. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, hand shakily reaching for the blade that was just out of his fingers reach. The sun beat down upon him, but Naruto seemed to be completely unaffected by the heat, but it could be argued that all of his attention was directed mainly to the fact that he wanted to beat his master at his own game. But alas, he certainly was lightyears behind his master in terms of skill for the blade._

 _But then again his master always had a knack for using swords. The man was practically born with one in his hand! Naruto had witnessed first-hand from a good distance away, watching as his master took down a hundred Fire Nation soldiers in a nearby town with ease during one of their monthly shopping runs. All of them had come to forcefully bring him back to the capital city to atone for his crimes against the Fire Nation, mainly deserting them while the war was still ongoing. He had beaten them so badly that even the Fire Lord told the military not to chase after the master of swords._

 _That day Naruto was definitely convinced that Piandao was born to use swords._

 _Master Piandao did not take it easy on him that was for sure. The man's motto during their spars was 'if I could go through with it at your age, you're going through with it'. Piandao was a strict man to all who saw him, but his softer side emerged only when he was alone with Naruto. The boy he had raised since the day his mother had left him at his doorstep had been the light in his dark life. They shared a bond that was similar to a close uncle and nephew would, similar to a pair in the Fire Nation, except Piandao could get very harsh during their training._

 _He didn't earn the title as the greatest swordsman in Fire Nation history from lazing about. A few decades back, the man dominated the battlefields, never losing a single battle. However, after years of fighting he became enlightened and felt conflicted about the Fire Nation's position in the war. Finally, he chose to embark on a journey without the permission of the Fire Lord, travelling the world to study under a variety of benders, warriors and artisans._

 _Learning under his close friend and fellow deserter, Jeong Jeong, Piandao had learned the ways on how to perform Firebending katas, counter and combat against Firebending, just in case the need ever arose. Luckily for Naruto, Piandao learning Firebending meant that he had a pretty good teaching already._

 _Garbed in black linen clothing usually used in non-bending martial arts, Piandao was barely sweating. His long hair was tied up into a small bun that sat on his head and his neatly trimmed greying beard and moustache made him look very stylish. The wooden blade he held by his side was ordinary on its own but when held in his hands, hands that had wielded and mastered every sword ever made, it looked to be a weapon that could even destroy its steel counterparts without trouble._

" _Why do we fall, Naruto?" The aged man asked as his shadow was casted next to his disciple. The man had turned down hundreds of brash candidates over the years who bragged about their own worth; therefore Piandao had only ever had one disciple, that being his surrogate nephew, Naruto. The boy was raised to be proud, but not arrogant, but Piandao had a deep feeling in his heart that even if he hadn't taught Naruto humility as the boy grew, the child would still have turned out the same._

" _I…" He took a deep breath to stop his panting before answering with his release, "I don't know… Why?" There was little to no snark left in him as all of his energy had been practically used up, thus the lack of the usually witty and sharp tongued remark he would fire back at his master after being asked such a question. The golden haired boy turned over to lie on his back, soaking up the harsh beams of light that fell from the heavens._

" _We fall so that we can learn to get back up. Are you ready to give up?" The pair had been at it for nearly two hours now which explained Naruto's heavily bruised skin from where he had failed to defend his guard. Naruto did not mind the beating he took at the hands of his master. Had this been a real fight with real swords, Naruto would've died a hundred times over. Each strike on his body was proof of that. Whether they were shallow or deep, they'd eventually affect him in a fight and cause him to slip up. But not only that, they were reminders of where he failed to defend himself and where he would have to fix the chinks in his armour._

 _This was merely Piandao's way of protecting Naruto. It was possible that his methods for training could be considered as child abuse, but Piandao would never take it too far like a certain Fire Lord would. If Naruto wanted to give up, Piandao wouldn't fault him. Not many could take such torturous training and stay sane or cheerful like Naruto did. The boy complained, yes, but they were all good natured complaints or usually just to annoy Piandao._

 _As such, Piandao decided to prod at him verbally to see if his disciple wanted to stop for today. "For just this moment, stop seeing me as your master but as an enemy who wishes to end your master. Are you going to lay there and allow me to destroy the person who cares and loves you?" Piandao continued darkly, narrowing his eyes and acting as if he was an actual enemy taunting Naruto, "Or are you doing to do something about it?"_

 _Upon hearing his words, Naruto forced his abdominal muscles to bring him up to a sitting position. His body roared in retaliation, the strain he had already put on it coaxing him to give up, begging him to just let the 'enemy' win so that he could continue lying on the ground. So that it didn't hurt anymore._

' _No. I'm not going to lie down and allow anyone to hurt my precious people!' His arms cried out as he forced them to propel the rest of himself upwards, allowing the boy to dip his head forth in his hunched sitting position. The sun's rays hid Naruto's face under his shaggy hair, not allowing any of his emotions to be shown._

' _This pain is nothing if I lose someone like Master Piandao! NOTHING!' The voice in his head screamed. His round pupils unnoticeably turned slitted for a brief second before reverting back to normal, 'So get up… GET UP! GET UP AND FIGHT BACK!'_

 _Naruto took a deep breath and began standing up slowly, pushing himself off the ground with both his legs and hands. His legs quivered briefly before he ignored the aching in his lower body, forcing them to stand still. Head still tilted downwards while on his feet, blood slowly trickled down the side of his face from a shallow cut on his temple where the skin had finally split, painting a line of crimson across his tanned face and whiskered cheeks as the droplet made its way to his chin._

 _Naruto bared his teeth as his limp hands clenched tightly, and he felt his reinvigorated muscles burn with energy. Still hunched back, he swung his energised hand to the side and grabbed the sword off the floor, lifting it up along with his entire body. Piandao's brown eyes widened by a fraction at the sight of the roaring flames he saw in the little boy's own eyes._

 _For a moment, it even seemed as though the azure orbs had turned into frightening vermillion._

 _Actually, the look on his face would've been adorable had the boy not looked as if he actually wanted to murder Piandao._

" _HYAH!" Naruto cried as the boy rushed forwards, holding his sword close to his chest._

' _The Will of Fire is burning strong in him…' A ghost of a smile flittered onto Piandao face at the sight of his apprentice charging at him with renewed strength, the determination to show his master that he wasn't going to give up so easily giving him strength. He noted just how heroic Naruto looked, charging at him despite his injuries with the blue sky at his back and the sun watching from above._

' _I'm sure you'd be proud of him…'_

 _If he hadn't been so focused on Naruto slashing at him with the sword, Piandao might've noticed a figure with a pair of golden eyes staring at them both from between the forested hills that were to the side of their training field. The sunlight suddenly turned unbearably harsh, to the point even the fighting master and student had to shield their eyes from the intense light that reflected off the ground. Over the two seconds it took for the light to die down the figure was already gone with the wind, leaving no trace of its existence behind save for the sound of quickly fading giggles._

* * *

 _Sitting in the kitchen with bandages wrapped around a majority of his body, a topless Naruto stared at Piandao with his large blue eyes. The man was busy unwinding another roll of thick gauze, having used the last bundle to wrap Naruto's injured chest up. The youth had lost yet again, but had actually put up a better fight in their previous spar in comparison to the rest._

" _What do you mean "I've got the Will of Fire"? You mean my Firebending?" Naruto asked as he lifted a bruised hand up to his eye level before a small flame flickered into existence on the tip of his index finger. It made his digit look as if it were a lit candle._

" _No Naruto, not your Firebending." Piandao smiled genially at the boy. Not even a few hours ago that face had been contorted into one of anger at the thought of losing his precious ones, people he had yet to find. But it made Piandao very happy to hear that Naruto had considered him to be one of his –soon to be many- precious people. Naruto had extinguished the fire on his finger and had begun to scratch at the bandage on his injured temple while Piandao sat down next to him on the chair._

" _The Will of Fire isn't a physical thing Naruto," The master placed a finger onto Naruto's bandaged chest, right above his heart, "It's a belief. Something you can only achieve through your heart…" His finger moved to touch Naruto's forehead, "And your mind, something I know you have trouble using at times." Naruto tittered with a weak grin as Piandao moved his hand back to his side._

 _Piandao was by no means calling his student an idiot. In reality, Naruto was a clever boy with a large amount of intelligence that backed up his strength, so Piandao felt no need to speak to him as if the boy were mentally his age. Though as smart as he was, Naruto could really be very dense at times. Whether this was intentional or not, Piandao didn't know at times as it seemed that Naruto enjoyed making his cool and calm master palm his face in exasperation._

" _The Will of Fire is an old belief that love is the key to peace. It is the simple, yet very difficult to accomplish ideology that everyone you love and care for, you must believe in, cherish, and fight to protect."_

 _Naruto nodded to show that he understood his master's words, "So you mean someone like you?"_

" _Yes. Our previous spar showed me that much." Piandao was beaming at Naruto through his eyes, who reciprocated it in his trademarked large grin, "I'm still glad that I'm one of your precious people."_

" _Now let me finish up with your left hand," Piandao said, gesturing for Naruto to gently lift it in order for Piandao to wrap it in bandages that had been soaked in a special salve the wizened man had created out of plants that were in the nearby vicinity. Naruto already had an incredibly high rate of healing, so the salve only seemed to make it go even faster. It would only take around six hours before his bruises would vanish._

 _Piandao wasn't that surprised after he had considered the boy's heritage._

" _So does having the Will of Fire make me stronger?" Naruto asked as Piandao began wrapping the bandages around his limb. He had to make sure that the bandages weren't on too tightly in order to prevent unnecessary pain to his disciple._

 _His master hummed for a moment before replying, "In a sense. Since you want to protect your loved ones, you strive to become stronger so you have to power to protect them. Protecting those precious to you becomes… sort of an instinct. I guess you could even say that I have the Will of Fire in me as well when it comes to you." Naruto looked abashed for a moment at the bonding moment before he returned to his normal self._

" _Whoa… I never thought of it that way." Naruto said as he marvelled at his free hand, staring at it in a new light. Somewhere in Naruto's mind, he knew that his Will of Fire would burn brightly in the future when he left the safety of his master and their abode in order to experience more of the outside world like Piandao himself had done. He knew for certain that in the future, he would find more of his precious people to help stoke his flames so that he could get stronger._

 _Secretly, he also wanted to use his powers to find her... the strange voice of a woman he had heard countless times in his dreams._

 _Though, as a bender growing in power, he just hoped that in the process he wouldn't burn himself down to cinders._

* * *

A few years later on Ember Island…

* * *

Naruto and Mai sat together in their seats at the perfect vantage point to watch the play and had their eyes peeled at the stage completely captivated by the amazing performance put up by the Hira'a Acting Troupe, who was using the stage of Ember Island for just one day. Many flocked to see the group act, not because they were well known, but mainly because they were not the infamous Ember Island Players, who were the ones who commonly did the plays. The Ember Island Players had a penchant for horrid renditions and frequently butchered up variations of amazing tales spawned from the mind of talented writers. In fact, their poor execution of renowned plays was the reason they were popularly visited by many of the Fire Nation's wealthiest, who came to amuse themselves from the simpletons on stages. A very clever gimmick to earn lots of money as their plays often sold out fast.

However, this specific play was considered to be the most romantic play –one that the Ember Island Players often butchered up every year- ever written by many who had heard the original written version.

This wasn't a first for both Naruto or Mai, as both of them had seen the play a handful of times. Ever since Naruto had been taken in as Azula's bodyguard and butler, and Mai was befriended by them, they had been dragged along with the rest of the Royal Family and Ty Lee by the First Lady of the Fire Nation to watch it. It was a yearly event that left everyone except for Ursa in disappointment.

As horrible as the acting was, Naruto noted that Ursa always seemed to have a hidden smile that was brimming with bittersweet memories. The blonde boy assumed that she was reminded of her past, having watched it in her youth before she was made royalty by Ozai. Watching it again, but this time with her family, must've brought her a massive sense of nostalgia and happiness.

He was sad that the banished lady was not around to see the indubitably and infinitely better version. Naruto was certain that Lady Ursa wouldn't have blinked at all throughout the entire play. The current actors on stage were superb and poured all of their passion into acting as if they really were the actual characters. It didn't take much longer before the play was at its climax as the Dragon Emperor, bound to his mortal form -under the alias Noren- by the Dark Water Spirit, struck down the antagonist of the story after confessing his love to his mortal girlfriend.

The Emperor swung his mighty blade, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and slashed the Dark Water Spirit across the chest. The Water Spirit cried out in pain and clutched at his injured chest. It didn't take the Spirit long to realise that he was completely outmatched, and thus retreated into the darkness, silently cursing the Emperor for managing to somehow break the curse he had placed on him as well as the fact that he had been defeated.

Naruto had to admit that as much as he disliked the Dark Water Spirit, he got to have a pretty cool mask. He quietly wondered if there were replicas for sale…

As the Dark Water Spirit ran off stage, the Emperor's girlfriend who had been taken in as a hostage suddenly broke free of her confinements and revealed herself to be none other than the Dragon Empress, the wife he had been neglecting even before he had been turned mortal by the Water Spirit. The shocked Emperor dropped his sword without care, rushing forwards to meet the masked woman.

"Even though I had forgotten you… that I was trapped in the body of a mortal… that I had fallen for another… you willingly gave me your heart! My Queen… I cannot help but give you mine in return!" The Dragon Emperor said from behind his red mask, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. Although none of the audience could see theirs eyes as it was blocked by the masks they wore, love shone clearly from their eyes. It was easily inferred that the two playing the characters might possibly be more than just colleagues behind closed curtains, ergo their fantastic chemistry together on stage.

"Only with your glory hidden in false form, the very same power taken from you that I returned with my everlasting love for you, could you finally recognise my devotion!" The elegant woman said as she brought her hands up, clasping her palms around the cheeks of his mask.

"And I'll never forget it, my queen. Never." At that line, the shaggy headed blonde couldn't help but smirk as he remembered a certain fire-breathing ember-eyed girl who would no doubt be chasing after his head since he had gone absent without official leave in order to take Mai out for her advanced birthday present. Naruto couldn't help it. He knew Mai loved watching plays, and it was one of the hobbies he had unearthed from her cold exterior. Naruto smiled and tilted his head slightly, catching the wistful and gentle smile play on Mai's lips.

Even the cold and apathetic Mai had to admit that the play was amazing and very well performed, giving credits to both the books, the play and the actors involved with the current production. She was just so tired of watching the same old garbage being produced year after year so it was obvious that she was pleased by the –probably- once in a lifetime opportunity to catch a spectacular variation of the play.

She knew Naruto had paid a pretty penny with his saved up money in order to get the first class seats they were currently sitting in. The term 'a pretty penny' didn't exactly cut it because he had to overpay tremendously in order to outbid the seats from other wealthy families. Normally she would've been rather uncomfortable with the situation as it reminded her of her parents, however she knew that Naruto didn't spend the exuberant amount of money on her to make himself look good in her eyes, something her parents would have done without thought for her. Instead he had used the money to get better seats so that she would have an amazing memory of the play due to the clear view they had, thus giving her a birthday present that she would have a hard time forgetting.

As the actors delivered their final lines, they bowed to a clapping audience who had begun to stand up one by one to deliver the deafening applause. The curtains were quickly drawn, concealing the actors and marked the end of the play. Still in their seats while the audience below them began to shuffle out of the room slowly, both turned their heads to look at each other at the same time. Mai's eyes were soft and happy, unlike how they normally were.

"Thank you for the birthday present, Naruto." She bit her lip for a second, a light blush on her face at the fact that she had considered it a date between them, "That was amazing. I had a lot of fun."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, smiling down at the slightly shorter girl with happiness, "Don't need to thank me Mai-chan. This was a really fun date!" In the dark room, he failed to notice her blush darken at the fact that he too had perceived their entire time at the theatre as a date. She hadn't forgotten the fact that he had called her 'absolutely stunning' back at the palace when he first caught sight of her in an actual dress.

Realising that it was quite late into the evening, Naruto stood up and grinned as he headed towards the exit of the theatre, "Come on, it's getting late and we don't really need Azula-chan to bite our heads off."

Still slightly dazed from his last comment, it took Mai a few seconds before she finally came to her senses. She turned to see that Naruto was patiently waiting at the door with a raise eyebrow at her hold up, beckoning for her to follow after him.

Quickly getting out of her seat, she chased after Naruto and delivered a soft smack to his arm upon his laughter. They walked out of the large building that housed the theatre and headed towards the docks where their private ship awaited them. He had quietly borrowed the metal steamboat from the Fire Lord's personal collection of sea vehicles, which Naruto had to learn on how to operate as one of the requirements for being Azula's ward.

"We should do this more often." Naruto admitted to his best friend, who nodded. Mai didn't know what overcame her, but suddenly feeling particularly brave she rushed forwards and quickly grabbed Naruto's arm, wrapping her own around it. The way she held onto it was definitely more than what was considered to be 'just friends'. Even Naruto understood that much from the scarlet flushing on his whiskered cheeks.

Leaning into the side of his arm, Mai laid her head onto his shoulder that reached the bottom of her ears –there wasn't that big of a height difference between the three girls and Naruto despite their small age gap- and released a content sigh at her comfortable position.

"Yeah… Yeah, we should." She whispered back as they both made their way down the long and desolate boardwalk. At the very end of the dock, their private boat rocked quietly amongst the waves, it's once dull black colours replaced with the piercing orange of the dying sun. They even took a moment to stop and stare, admiring the breath taking sight of the blue ocean and darkening skies painted in different shades of red. Salmon pink skies were mixed with dark blue clouds, filling the skies up. The gentle waves of the blue ocean carried tinges of reds and oranges, changing colours every second as they moved. With the final shot of the amazing sight before her burned into her mind, Mai could easily say that her advanced birthday present was complete. Well, there was still the kiss but Mai wasn't a wishful thinker. She knew that she would never forget this amazing day even if she wanted to. It was impossible. It was the best day of her life… so far, of course since there were still many, many, many more to be had with Naruto.

She suddenly inhaled and brought her hand up to her fairly flat chest, clenching it over her heart.

There it was again. That strange feeling in her heart. Could it be? Was she… was she falling in love? That, as smart as she was, she wasn't completely sure. She was young and this could be all just something people her age experienced commonly, but she sincerely hoped that this feeling would stick around for the long run.

Mai was confident enough to say that in her current state, not even a fire breathing princess yelling her head off at her for stealing their crush away for the day could ruin her evening.

* * *

 _Hello, it's me. It's been a while, huh? Yes, I know I haven't updated in a while, but trust me it's not that I don't want to._

 _Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Not much after such a long hiatus, but I hope you'll forgive me. I'm trying my best to write, but I just end up saving and closing whatever I do write._

 _If you'd please, some motivation would be appreciated._

 _Also, if you're interested in DC X Naruto, go and check out my other account (link in profile). It's called The Boy with the Green Thumbs, featuring some of your favourite female villains de-aged and Naruto himself. Some of you guys have already seen, favorited and followed it, which really surprised me. When I saw a few familiar names I wondered if you guys actually knew that I own the other account_

 _Lastly, shout out to the gift that keeps on giving, SaucyHandles, who has been leaving really long reviews on most of my stories. Thanks for the words of encouragement and compliments! The rest of you guys also have my thanks for all the reviews you've given me! I genuinely enjoy waking up and seeing the words 'review' on my notifications. I go through every single review that's sent to me and I read them all even if it looks like I don't._

 _Anyways, that's all from me for now. See you at the next update._


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